UPDATE: Boss tells employee to 'stick to their contract' after denying them a raise, then complains they're not doing extra: 'I'm about to reply with a screenshot'

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JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Feb 9, 2026 10:00 AM EST

To catch up on this work drama… read the original story here.

In the original story, an employee finally stood up for themselves after being constantly disrespected by their boss. After asking for a raise, given how much extra work they were doing, they learned the hard way that that wasn't going to fly at their workplace. So instead of just rolling over and accepting that treatment, they decided to give their boss exactly what they wanted. The hard way. It's not often that we have the guts to do the petty thing, especially if you border on people pleasing. It's so much easier just to keep your head down and accept the disrespect that comes your way. But every once in a while, you get the courage to do something risky but potentially full of reward. That's what this employee did, and we were all on pins and needles, wondering what would happen next. 

Drama at work is, in a way, more fun than drama in your personal life, because you can more easily detach from it. If you're a regular person with a regular life outside of your job, then you have a support system to come home to even when work is crazy. You can watch it from a bit of a distance, enjoying the way it unfolds instead of being desperately attached to the outcome. But sometimes when you're embroiled in the middle of a work drama, you can't help but give in to its pull. 

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  • A man sits at his desk looking stressed talking on a cell phone
    via Unsplash+ (Toa Heftiba)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Luckily, here at Memebase, you can enjoy the work drama of others from a safe distance. You can keep up with all its twists and turns and never be affected by any of it. Isn't that why we come to the internet? We're sick of our own lives and our own problems, so we would like to spend some time inside someone else's. That's exactly what we're here to do today. And this is a two-parter, so there is even more drama where that came from. Scroll on to read everything and go back to the original story for all of the details.

  • [UPDATE] My boss told me to "stick to my contract" after denying a raise. The fallout was even faster than I expected.

    Sorry for the delay and for the original post getting removed by the mods. i wasn't ignoring the comments, my slack was literally blowing up and i had to spend half the day in meetigs with HR and the director, so reddit was the last thing on my mind.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • For those who missed the first post, i asked for a raise, my boss told me to focus on core responsibilities in your contract, so i stopped doing all the seniorlevel architecture and client reporting i'd been covering for months.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • the 9am meeting this morning was a disaster for him. he ended up looking like an idiot in front of the director because the client data wasn't ready. he actually tried to throw me under the bus right there on the call, but i had the receipts ready. i just calmly told the director that i was following my manager's explicit instructions from earlier this week to prioritize my contract duties over external projects.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • management tried to bring up the "other duties as assigned" clause in my contract later that afternoon. i pointed out that "other duties" doesn't mean "permanently absorbing a senior dev's entire workload for zero extra pay." - not that aggressively but that was what i meant.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • They haven't fired me. they literally can't because it's still just me and two interns who have no idea how the legacy code works. instead, they've scheduled a "role re-evaluation" for monday morning. it feels like they finally realized they can't bully me into doing two jobs for one salary anymore.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • I'm still applying elsewhere because this place is a sinking ship, but man, it feels good to finally just do the job i'm actually paid for.
    via u/Playful-Vegetable-15
  • A man sits at his desk with his head in his hands
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • Commenters gave their takes on this story.

    [deleted] I'm really interested in seeing the update to this update, because "role re- evaluation" realllllly sounds like a fancy way of saying "evaluating whether we should or shouldn't fire you". Never underestimate the stupidity of someone higher up with a stick up their ass and an axe to grind
    via u/[deleted]
  • Freakychee "Other duties when assigned", "Any other task instructed by immediate supervisor" and the like I hate it so much and think those should be illegal. It completely destroys the purpose of a job description.
    via u/Freakychee
  • Imagine if other contracts worked that way, I pay my phone bill but the agreement had "any other task I require" and ask my phone company to clean my garage. It's fucking bullshit.
    via u/Freakychee
  • Beetlejuice_me I used to work for this decent company with a really shitty IT department in Texas. 3 support people for 1200 employees. Anyway, they fired the help desk after they got a f you quote for the contract renewal (the manager who dealt with the help desk was a nutter so they wanted out of the contract, thus the FU pricing).
    via u/Beetlejuice_me
  • So they didn't renew and had us 2nd level support guys answer phones. I asked in the meeting "who will answer the phones?" and they did the "we're looking at options". I pressed on the "ok, so on Monday, who will pick answer the phones when someone calls the help desk".
    via u/Beetlejuice_me
  • "Weeell... it'll be you guys". Riiiight, so obviously I ignored the phones because I had my own job to do. Then I get told that my performance review will suffer, and I'm like "but I am doing my job. I am not hired to be help desk, so why does that affect my performance review?".
    via u/Beetlejuice_me
  • Of course it was "other duties as assigned" - even when those duties would make me fail at my actual job I was hired for. So I kept ignoring the phones, and did my job, and the second I was fully vested with my 401k, I gave my notice.
    via u/Beetlejuice_me
  • tranquilovely if they are this shitty. you better hope they dont reevaluate your duties and say "this is your new job duties" with no extra pay still. best of luck
    via u/tranquilovely
  • jonathantg35 do as little as possible for as long as possible. They'll get what they pay for
    via u/jonathantg35
  • Kesterlath I hope you say "I will be happy to move into the senior dev position with the appropriate salary negotiation that will be applicable. That will free up a junior position for you to hire for, which is significantly easier to fill. Failing that, I will continue to do the job as my original contract stated. Thank you."
    via u/Kesterlath
  • And then if they don't give you the senior dev position, leave. Let them sink in their own pool of stupidity.
    via u/Kesterlath
  • DaZMan44 If they're THAT lost without you, quit and offer your services as a consultant while you look for another job
    via u/DaZMan44
  • searing7 Sounds good I guess but you're more likely to get canned and any promotion you get after pulling this is just until they can replace you. Just find a new job and leave
    via u/searing7
  • CP_Chronicler I'm sorry and just so you know this is literally the majority of companies out there. For anyone who needs validation, most managers and I'd say all of HR are scummy weasels that produce no value for a company but take credit for it anyways. Good luck.
    via u/CP_Chronicler
  • Interesting-Yello... Yeah that "other duties" clause is in every contract and doesn't mean shit. Wish there was some law that prohibited even including it, it just adds confusion in cases like this.
    via u/Interesting-Yellow-4
  • Acinixys If they offer you a raise take it Will help your job hunt You can always leave anyway if something better comes along
    via u/Acinixys
  • bit-by-a-moose I wouldn't touch that contract you negociated. I wouldn't touch anything that isn't substantial, concrete and immediate. "Substantial pay bump in the future" is too vague.
    via u/bit-by-a-moose
  • Even if the amount was stated and even an implementation date, it sounds more like a delay tactic. They don't have to give you a raise if the fire you. I want the raise now. I want it substantial because I fully expect them to make my life hell then let me go.
    via u/bit-by-a-moose
  • pepcorn it feels like they finally realized they can't bully me into doing two jobs for one salary anymore. I think that's exactly what they're going to try and bully you into. Or, offer an insultingly low raise.
    via u/pepcorn
  • RedditLeagueAcc... Definitely keep job hunting. Even if there is a role re- evaluation that comes with a promotion, they will be looking for an excuse to fire you. The only roadblock will be them on boarding someone else to replace you. Even if here is no replacement, people have been offended and there is potential retaliation so the work environment wont be good.
    via u/RedditLeagueAccount
  • The only other possibility is to make sure to keep documenting/recording and getting the people who triggered the clash to get fired. You don't both get to stay there.
    via u/RedditLeagueAccount
  • karonic114 Crazy that they're gonna use just doing the job they're paying you for as an excuse to not give you more money.
    via u/karonic114
  • NotTobyFromHR They'll bump you up a bit, then start looking for your replacement. Right or not, your boss looked like an idiot and I doubt someone like him is going to just smile and let you "win". Continue job hunting
    via u/NotTobyFromHR

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antiwork workplace-stories toxic-workplace bosses coworkers working toxic-boss update workplace bad bosses
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